Halloween

A text to my friend on Halloween 2009:
"Wow. Trick-or-treating has never been such an utter failure. Didn't want to put on his costume. Refused to wear the hat. Wouldn't knock on any doors, didn't say anything other than "home, home", threw the few pieces of candy he did get. And when we turned a corner and saw a fire pit, it was all over. Full blown meltdown, crying, screaming, trying to claw his way into my shirt, total chaos. I just want him to have fun."

That was 3 years ago. Before a diagnosis of Autism. Before we learned about Sensory Processing Disorder. And all the other idiosyncrasies that go along with the label of Autism. Knowledge is so powerful. 

After 3 years of intensive (on going) therapies we have a different child.

Halloween 2012:

Bambam: "Hawoween coming"

Me: "Yes, do you want to dress up and go trick-or-treating?"

Bambam: "Yesssss"

Me: "What do you want to dress up as?"

Bambam: "Buzzzz...or Spyermn"

So I found a Spiderman costume and paid $30.00 for it. To which Mr. Fixit said, "You paid $30 for a costum that he will only wear 60% of (he won't wear anything on his head, so much for the mask) as he goes to the 3 houses of neighbors he knows and then insists on coming home?" Yup, my kid TOLD ME WHAT HE WANTED TO BE FOR HALLOWEEN. You bet I spent $30 on it, even if he doesn't end up trick-or-treating at all! He brought up Halloween unpromted, and then told me what he wanted to be. That alone was enough for me. I would have spent $100.

Yet, I still had no expectations. After several years of unsuccessful attempts at trick-or-treating, I had finally learned to just let it go. After dinner I casually asked Bambam if he wanted to put on his costume and go trick-or-treating. To which he answered a resounding "No!" OK, I told him to let me know if he decided he wanted to go and went about cleaning up the kitchen. About 15 minutes later he brought his costume to me and asked to go trick-or-treating. 

I helped him get into the body suit and set the mask aside. But he pointed at it and said "I need dat". Really??? Yup, he put it on! A full over-the-head mask with 2 eye holes and tiny nose holes. This kid who has refused to even wear noise cancelling headphones has a full head mask on! And out the front door he went, running to the neighbor's house.

In the end he not only went to the 3 houses of the people he knows and talks to regularly, but up and down the next 2 streets. We had to run to keep up with him. He sometimes forgot to say "trick-or-treat" and just said "please" instead (scripting is not his thing). But he never forgot to say thank you. He kept the mask on for about 4 houses, then it ended up in the candy bag. But I couldn't have been more proud of him. My kid enjoyed Halloween. HE HAD FUN.

Best $30 I've spent all year.